“It is as if I were made of stone, as if I were my own tombstone, there is no loophole for doubt or for faith, for love or repugnance, for courage or anxiety, in particular or in general, only a vague hope lives on, but no better than the inscriptions on tombstones.”

Franz Kafka was a Czech-German writer of the early 20th century. His surreal, existential works—including *The Metamorphosis* and *The Trial*—explore alienation, bureaucracy, and the absurdity of modern life. The term "Kafkaesque" now describes oppressive, labyrinthine systems.